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| Middle East |
| Terror machine mulling ''cease fire'' |
| 2002-07-28 |
| Haaretz reports talks among Tanzim-Fatah representatives - and perhaps Hamas operatives as well - were resumed over the weekend, with the aim of halting terror attacks in Israel. Opposition chair MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz) was told by Palestinian officials that the talks, sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the European Union, were resumed despite the killing of Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh and at least 16 civilians in the Israeli attack in Gaza last week. No idea whether these are genuine or pro-forma. Shehadeh getting banging may have put the fear of God into the Bigs, so it could actually be real... The talks reportedly involve Palestinian preventative security chief Mohammed Dahlan and his men in Gaza, Hussein al-Sheikh and other Tanzim operatives in the West Bank, and Sheikh Hassan Yousouf of Hamas in the West Bank. Thought Dahlan was Yasser's "national security advisor"? According to Palestinian sources, Marwan Barghouti, currently in jail in Israel, has been informed and has given his blessing to the talks. Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is also reportedly fully aware of the ongoing dialogue. Before the attack in Gaza, Tanzim-Fatah had announced that it would be ready to reduce the number of terror attacks and maybe even stop them altogether. Before the attack, there were attempts to convince Hamas to moderate its operations as well, but now Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine insist that they have a right in principle to launch terror attacks inside Israel. That's because revenge is one of the bedrock principles of Islam... Meanwhile, Yasser Arafat has given the Palestinian talks team a green light to resume talks with Israeli representatives on civilian, security-related and political issues, a senior source in Arafat's headquarters said last night. "We're involved! See? Yasser's leading! Really he is!" |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |